16:22 The crowd joined the attack 18 against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes 19 off Paul and Silas 20 and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 21 16:23 After they had beaten them severely, 22 they threw them into prison and commanded 23 the jailer to guard them securely. 16:24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell 24 and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25
16:1 He also came to Derbe 26 and to Lystra. 27 A disciple 28 named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, 29 but whose father was a Greek. 30
2:20 The sun will be changed to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and glorious 31 day of the Lord comes.
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.
3 tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”
4 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.
5 tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”
6 tn Or “delivered him up.”
7 sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.
8 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
9 tn Grk “or do according to his will”; the referent (the master) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This example deals with the slave who knew what the command was and yet failed to complete it.
10 tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.
11 tn Grk “blows.”
12 tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”
13 tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.
14 sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.
15 tn Grk “they will ask even more.”
16 sn Had them beaten. The punishment was the “forty lashes minus one,” see also Acts 22:19; 2 Cor 11:24; Mark 13:9. The apostles had disobeyed the religious authorities and took their punishment for their “disobedience” (Deut 25:2-3; m. Makkot 3:10-14). In Acts 4:18 they were warned. Now they are beaten. The hostility is rising as the narrative unfolds.
17 tn The word “Then” is supplied as the beginning of a new sentence in the translation. The construction in Greek has so many clauses (most of them made up of participles) that a continuous English sentence would be very awkward.
18 tn L&N 39.50 has “the crowd joined the attack against them” for συνεπέστη (sunepesth) in this verse.
19 tn Grk “tearing the clothes off them, the magistrates ordered.” The participle περιρήξαντες (perirhxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Although it may be possible to understand the aorist active participle περιρήξαντες in a causative sense (“the magistrates caused the clothes to be torn off Paul and Silas”) in the mob scene that was taking place, it is also possible that the magistrates themselves actively participated. This act was done to prepare them for a public flogging (2 Cor 11:25; 1 Thess 2:2).
20 tn Grk “off them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn The infinitive ῥαβδίζειν (rJabdizein) means “to beat with rods or sticks” (as opposed to fists or clubs, BDAG 902 s.v. ῥαβδίζω).
22 tn Grk “Having inflicted many blows on them.” The participle ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") has been taken temporally. BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 1.a.β has “inflict blows upon someone” for this expression, but in this context it is simpler to translate in English as “they had beaten them severely.”
23 tn Grk “commanding.” The participle παραγγείλαντες (parangeilante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
24 tn Or “prison.”
25 tn L&N 6.21 has “stocks” for εἰς τὸ ξύλον (ei" to xulon) here, as does BDAG 685 s.v. ξύλον 2.b. However, it is also possible (as mentioned in L&N 18.12) that this does not mean “stocks” but a block of wood (a log or wooden column) in the prison to which prisoners’ feet were chained or tied. Such a possibility is suggested by v. 26, where the “bonds” (“chains”?) of the prisoners loosened.
26 sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra. It was about 90 mi (145 km) from Tarsus.
27 sn Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 25 mi (40 km) south of Iconium.
28 tn Grk “And behold, a disciple.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
29 tn L&N 31.103 translates this phrase “the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer.”
30 sn His father was a Greek. Timothy was the offspring of a mixed marriage between a Jewish woman (see 2 Tim 1:5) and a Gentile man. On mixed marriages in Judaism, see Neh 13:23-27; Ezra 9:1-10:44; Mal 2:10-16; Jub. 30:7-17; m. Qiddushin 3.12; m. Yevamot 7.5.
31 tn Or “and wonderful.”
32 tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”
33 tn Or “having freed.”
34 sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.
35 tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).